


Sad World

by Iwritewhenever



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bullying, Comfort, Harassment, Name-Calling, Racism, Racist Language, catcalling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-02-16 10:12:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18689416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iwritewhenever/pseuds/Iwritewhenever
Summary: A day out with the family doesn't turn out the way Duke and Damian thought it would.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [solar_celeste](https://archiveofourown.org/users/solar_celeste/gifts).



They insisted they take a day out. The entire family on a day trip, what could go wrong? “A lot.” Duke answered in his head, “A lot could go wrong.” He sighed as he followed the group of people ahead of him. The only person he could tell who didn’t want to be here was Damian, and maybe Jason. But he was making the most of the situation by continuously poking Dick in the side. 

Duke nearly tripped into Damian who had stopped to stare into a store window. “Everything okay?” He asked. Damian blinked and looked up at him.

“Of course, I apologize for getting in your way.” He started walking again only to stop after taking a few steps. “I believe we have a situation.” He stated. Duke raised an eyebrow.

“And that would be?” 

“They’re gone.” Duke looked up and saw that the rest of their group was indeed gone. He sighed heavily, 

“Right, well we’ll find them.” He went to pull out his phone when he heard distant yelling which was getting louder by the second. A drunk man walked up, staggering on his feet. 

“Whore’s son.” He spat at Damian. “Your mom’s a fucking bitch.” Damian flinched at the comments but remained stoic. Duke held his hand up,

“There’s no need to get aggressive, sir. We’re just minding our own business.” The man spits on the ground.

“Is that what Isis said when they blew up our country.” He grabbed at Damian’s arm, shaking him roughly. Damian closed his eyes and struggled slightly to get out of the grip. “Admit you’re a terrorist, boy. You look like them!” Duke grabbed the man’s arm. 

“Sir, I’m going to ask you to stop. He’s not doing anything. Please leave us be.” 

“No. Our country was better off when we had your lot to do our dirty work. You think we’re equal but we’re not. We will always be superior to your kind.” The man directed this to Duke. Duke clenched his jaw. He pulled the man’s arm off of Damian with more force than was probably necessary. 

“I suggest you leave before I call the police for harassment.” The man spat on the ground one more time muttering,

“Wait till he blows up this country then you’ll see where I’m coming from.” Duke clenched his fists as he watched the man walk away. He turned to Damian and kneeled down in front of him. 

“Are you okay?” Damian nodded, but it didn’t escape Duke the tears that ran down his cheeks. 

“I am fine. I am sorry you had to see that.” Damian said, looking at him and brushing away the tears. Duke’s stern expression softened. He grabbed at Damian’s hands,

“Does this happen a lot?” Damian looked away directing his attention elsewhere. Duke gently grabbed his chin and made him look back at him. “Damian?” 

“More often than I would like,” Damian whispered. “Not a lot when I’m with people, such as Grayson or father. More so when I’m with other people.” Duke nodded, he stood up and held his hand out to Damian. 

“Come on, let’s go find your brothers, then we can leave.” Damian hesitated, biting at his lip before taking hold of Duke’s hand. 

“Does it happen a lot for you?” Damian asked, green eyes peering up at him. Duke smiled,

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself. You’re only eleven, no kid should be treated like that.” Damian frowned but accepted the answer. They finally found the rest of their group. A relieved look came across Dick’s face when he saw them. He ran up and hugged Damian,

“I was worried. What happened to you guys?” He looked between the two but received no answer from either of the two. Duke cleared his throat and nodded his head in the direction where the rest of the group stood. Dick nodded and walked over. Looking behind him at Cass who placed her hand on Damian’s shoulder in a comforting manner. 

“What happened?” Dick asked. Duke hurriedly explained what happened,

“I don’t think he really wants to do this right now, maybe we should call it a day?” He suggested. Dick nodded. 

“Fucking dick, I’ll rip his balls off and display them in my fucking house,” Jason muttered under his breath. Dick slapped Jason on the chest for his comment. Duke walked back to where Damian stood,

“Let’s go, okay?” Damian nodded and stood close to Duke. They began walking back to their car, Duke smiled slightly when he felt Damian grab at his hand. He squeezed Damian’s hand and felt a squeeze in response. 

“A sad world we live in.” Duke thought looking down at the tiny child beside him.


	2. Chapter 2

How the batboys deal with girls being catcalled

Dick  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Dick was out with Barbara, his hand protectively around her waist. It had been a while since they had a day out by themselves. Just the two of them. They were walking back to the car stopped at a crosswalk. When they were allowed to go, Dick’s head shot up when he heard a car horn and whistles coming from one of the cars. A bunch of males were pointing and shouting at Barbara. 

Barbara used her hair to cover her face and stared at the ground. Dick squeezed her hand. He stopped walking turned to face the car. He struck a pose before yelling “Thank you!” The men in the car stopped. Confusion clear on their face before an angry expression took over. Dick smiled at them and ran to catch up with Barbara. 

“You didn’t have to.” She said. 

“And let a bunch of douches harass my girlfriend, you think too little of me.” She smiled at him. 

“I’m going to tell the family about this.” She stated but still looked at him to see if it was okay.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He said, kissing the top of her head as they reached their car. Disgust coiled inside him that this is what the world has become.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Jason  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was close to midnight when Jason left the bar. He was walking down the street when he overheard some shouting coming from a street corner. He noticed a group of young women walking alone. A group of men followed close behind. “Just wait till we get to that pretty mouth!” One of them shouted. Jason ground his teeth together. He quickened his walk to catch up with them. 

One of the men reached for one of the women’s butts. Attempting to grope it. Jason broke out into a run, he slowed down when he was a few feet behind the men. He reached forward and grabbed the man’s butt. The man jumped and stared at him, “What the fuck?” He said. 

“What?” Jason asked, “It was squeezable, and you were obviously asking for it.” He looked the man up and down, taking pleasure in the guys scared expression. 

“No, I wasn't.” The man said. One of the other men came up behind Jason. 

“Faggot.” The man spat at him. Jason stared at him. He leaned in close,

“Can’t wait to use that pretty mouth of yours,” He whispered in the man’s ear. The guy recoiled back, 

“Let’s get out of here.” the guy said and the rest of the group followed. Jason yelled back after them,

“Come on! You were clearly asking for it!” The men walked faster until they were out of sight. Jason turned to the women who were still standing there. “Are you okay?” He asked. 

“Yes, thank you.” One of the women said. Another burst out laughing.

“You just gave them a taste of their own medicine.” She snorted, “I have to tell my boyfriend about this.” Jason smirked,

“My older brother pretends the catcall was for him. If that’s an idea that will interest your boyfriend. Do you need me to walk you home?” They nodded their heads and Jason walked them the rest of the way until they were safely back to their apartment. They thanked him again before he left. 

Jason made his way into his apartment. He pulled out his phone and called Dick. “Hey, you won’t believe what happened.” He said.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Tim  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The man had been following them for the past half hour. Tim was tense and clenched Stephanie’s hand tight. The man hadn’t made any moves but a part of Tim wanted him too. They rounded a corner where a bus stop was. “Let’s take a bus okay?” Tim whispered in Steph’s ear. She nodded and they sat on the bench. The man walked up and smiled at them. 

“I just had to tell you how pretty you are.” The man said, looking at Steph. She smiled,

“Thank you.” She scooted closer to Tim. The man’s smile faded before coming back again. 

“I just really appreciate beautiful things, and you are one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen today.” Stephanie looked back at him.

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” The man took a step closer to them, Tim glared at him from his spot on the bench. 

“Sir,” Tim said. The man looked at him unamused. “Thank you for the compliments to my girlfriend but please leave us alone.” He wasn’t asking and he hoped the man caught onto that. Instead the man huffed,

“Well, I can’t appreciate beauty can I? I came up to give her a compliment and you’re getting all defensive. She needs to be told how beautiful she is. She is beautiful and one of the most exquisite pieces of art I’ve seen.” The man reached out to touch Stephanie’s hair. Tim stood up and slapped his hand away.

“Touch her again.” He said. “You’ve been following us for the past half hour. I’ll call the police and they can deal with your sorry ass, you piece of fucking shit.” The man became angry,

“How dare you assault me?” 

“Get away from me and my girlfriend, before I knock your teeth out.” The man huffed,

“Fuck you, you fucking bitch.” The man said, directing it to Steph before walking away. 

“I’ll drag your ass to the police station and I’m sure they would love to hear your story, piece of shit, you can’t get your fucking life together to not prey on young girls,” Tim shouted after him. The man turned and glared, in response, Tim held up his middle finger. The bus came soon after. 

“You don’t think you overreacted a little?” Steph asked as they took a seat. 

“No,” Tim said. He was still tense and his hands were shaking slightly. 

“Thanks,” She said, leaning up against him. Tim took a deep breath. Were all the worlds in the multiverse as fucked up as this one?   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Damian  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Damian knocked the boy down to the ground. “What are you doing?” He asked the highschooler. 

“Nothing.” the boy said.

“Tt, nothing? You were assaulting her. I overheard your lewd comments. 

“Pft, she was asking for it. I mean look at her.” The boy motioned to the woman standing behind Damian. Damian turned to look at the woman. 

“I am. You talk to your mom like that?” Damian retorted. The boy's eyes widened,

What? No! I would never, I don’t think you’re getting my point kid-” Damian grabbed his wrist when the kid went to motion at the woman again. 

“And I don’t think you’re getting my point. This woman is no different than your mom, and I will break your wrist if you don’t leave now.” He bent the kid's wrist back a little enough to cause pain. The kid cried out,

“Okay, okay. Psycho.” He mumbled before running off. Damian turned to the woman. 

“Ma’am? Are you alright?” He said. She smiled,

“Yes thank you, I appreciate what you did.” 

“Where are you headed? I will walk you there.” Damian said. She smiled again and told him where she was headed. 

Once she was dropped off and Damian returned home he told Dick of what happened. 

“I’m proud of you little D,” Dick said. 

“Thank you, Grayson.” Damian said, “Has the world always been like this?” Dick’s face saddened at the question.

“It’s been like this for a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this. I hope they were all in character. I know Tim's might have seemed out of character, but I honestly feel like he would be the one to curse the most in this situation. 
> 
> Give me ideas for future chapters
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for islamophobia, racist language, etc. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I am none of these things, and I don't support anyone who ridicules anybody for their religion, race, sexuality, etc
> 
> If you comment any hate or anything based on this chapter or the story in particular, targeting me or anybody I will delete the comment. Don't be an asshole.

Duke winced as a cold breeze chilled him to the bone. It was a rainy day in Gotham and currently his jacket was doing nothing to help against the chill. He stopped at a street crossing and pushed the button. He shifted from foot to foot, trying to stay warm and starting to feel unsafe from being in one spot for too long. 

“Why don’t you go back to your country, terrorist?” Duke looked up at the nasty voice that rang through the area. He saw a man yelling at a young woman. He took a few steps forward in case the verbal abuse got physical. The woman looked away from the man as he walked up to her. “Hey, I’m talking to you, or do you not speak English?” Duke tried not to stare, but he glanced over and noticed the woman was wearing a hijab. That explained the name calling. 

“Sir, please leave me alone.” She said. She didn’t make eye contact with him but instead looked at the ground. 

“This is America, take it off.” The man shouted at her, which gained the attention of many people. She didn’t say anything but took a step back from him. “If you won’t take it off then I will.” He reached out and grabbed for her hijab. She tried to duck out of the way but he caught one end and yanked it off of her head. She screamed as it was ripped off her head. She wrapped her arms around her head trying to cover herself. 

Duke ran forward, unzipping his jacket along the way. He took it off and handed it to her avoiding touching or looking at her. She didn’t say anything as she wrapped it around her head as best as possible. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to return that please.” Duke told the man. The man sneered at him,

“Why do you help their kind?” 

“Because they’re people and they deserve to be treated as such.” Duke said. The man spat at him, mumbled something that sounded like 

“Fucking immigrants,” and walked away. Duke turned to the woman,

“Miss, are you okay?” She nodded but avoided eye contact. “I’ll get you a new scarf.” He offered. 

“You don’t have to,” She said, “But I would appreciate it.” Duke motioned for her to follow him. He walked her to a store and waited for her to pick a new scarf out. He purchased it for her and waited for her to get out of the dressing room to put it on. She gave him a thankful smile when she came out, her hair covered once again. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” 

“Stay safe, okay.” She nodded and they parted ways. Duke made his way back to the crosswalk he was at before. He made it to a restaurant where the wards of Bruce Wayne were. 

“You took a while,” Dick mentioned looking at the time on his phone. 

“Something happened.” Duke shrugged sitting next to Damian. Dick gave him a questioning look, “Everything’s fine,” Duke reassured him. “Just had to help someone out.” 

“The job doesn’t rest for us, I guess.” Jason scoffed. “Sucks ass.” He muttered. Duke shrugged, remembering the relieved look on the woman’s face when he came to help her. Maybe the job never let them rest but he didn’t mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't entirely sure how to go about writing this. But I would like to thank vivalajuwa, tiredlayla, and nightwinging this on tumblr for helping me out with this. And anybody else who helped me out. I appreciate each of your help and giving me the right information so I could write this without the stereotypes. 
> 
> If you have any suggestions for more chapters of this, comment them. I may not do them all but chances are I might. Also I got some requests to do a second chapter of the catcalling but without the boys and only girls, would you guys be interested in that? 
> 
> My pm's and ask box are always open on Tumblr @Iwritewhenever. 
> 
> Love you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> I, in no way support racism. This was simply for the benefit of the story and the character. It's disgusting hearing people talk like this, and to all of you who have had to deal with this, I am so sorry. All of you are wonderful and beautiful people! People should not be based on their religion, race, or culture, but by their own character. 
> 
> Now to my friend solar_celeste. My dear, get some fucking rest. You try too hard and you work too hard. You don't need to do that, just take a break. Stop trying to live up to these impossible standards you have for yourself. No one expects you to be the perfect student, sister, daughter, or whatever shit you have conducted in your head. If you're having a bad day, week, month, it doesn't matter. Some periods of your life are going to be harder than others. 
> 
> I was thinking of making a series out of this. Dealing with sexual, racial, cultural harassment. I would love to hear your thoughts on that. Chances are I'll still write it whether it gets a lot of support or not. Also, I wanted to say please don't send me hate comments for this. If you don't like it get off and don't read. I am not racist this was for the story and these are not my own personal thoughts or views. 
> 
> Until next time.


End file.
